Taken
by nightprowler579
Summary: Instead of trying to drown Ponyboy the night he and Johnny tried to pick up Cherry and Marcia, the Socs attempt revenge a different way: by kidnapping Pony and holding him hostage for several days. Will the gang be able to find him before it's too late?
1. Chapter One

**Hey, guys! Sorry I deleted my last story,** _ **Taken**_ **, I just really wanted to revamp it because I felt like it wasn't as good as it needed to be. I also wanted to rewrite it because I found out this week that one of my favorite authors deleted her profile, and she had an amazing story about Ponyboy being kidnapped, and really it inspired me to write my own version. Does anyone else reread the same stories over and over? I sure as hell do, and I am deeply saddened that I won't get to read that story again. Alas, I have big shoes to fill, as they say, so here is a bigger, better, badder version of** _ **Taken.**_ **As always, please comment and leave constructive criticism or whatever. -Riley**

Ponyboy and I walked through the park, shivering from the whipping wind and the September chill in the air. My legs were numb in my blue jeans and I could barely even feel myself walking. I rubbed my arms trying to stay warm. At least I had my denim jacket, Pony was still wearing his sleeveless sweatshirt. He was crying and telling me what had just happened between him and Darry; from what I gathered, Darry had snapped and slapped Pony for coming home so late. I knew he was going to be in some deep shit with his brother, but I sure didn't think Darry would go the route of my old man and get physical. I'd seen Darry violent in rumbles, but never with any of us unless he was joking. It was shocking, to say the least.

"You got a cigarette, Johnny?" Pony's voice broke through my thoughts. He sounded choked up still.

"Yeah, man, I found this butt." We stopped at the playground, close to the jungle gym, and I dug into the pocket of my jacket for the butt and a matchbook. When I found them I handed them both to Ponyboy. He struck the match, illuminating his face. But, as soon as he lit the butt and the match went out, Pony's face was still lit by a bright, white light. Pony seemed to notice this as well, because he looked up, eyes widening, and the cigarette fell out of his mouth, causing sparks as it hit the ground. I turned around to see what was going on and immediately my heart started to race. It was a blue Mustang, its headlights were pointed directly at us. There was no doubt whoever was driving had seen us; and I had a bad feeling in my stomach about who the driver was. The car was sitting in the middle of the street, not moving.

"Want to make a break for it?" I asked as the car moved forward slowly, then stopped. The driver killed the lights. The car shut off, the doors opened, and one by one Socs got out. I could feel my heart about to beat out of my chest, but I dared not show Ponyboy how scared I was. I could feel him shaking beside me. The smell of booze became more and more obvious the closer the five guys got towards us. It hung thick in the air. Pony and I were up high on the jungle gym, so the Socs couldn't have gotten to us, but there was no telling how long they would wait us out. The five Socs stopped in front of us, moonlight glinting off the rings on the hand of one guy. The scars on my face seemed to throb slightly as I remembered what had happened a few months ago.

"Well, well, well, looks like these are the greasers who tried to pick up our girls," said Rings, taking a swig from a silver flask. Pony and I looked at each other; I could see the fear in his eyes. We knew we were going to catch it, there was no getting around it. We may as well get it over with. Slowly, we both climbed down the jungle gym. We stood there defiantly, trying to meet their gaze and hope that maybe they were a little too intimidated to approach us. I should have known better, though: All five of them had a good 100 pounds and two feet on both of us. We were royally screwed. Rings put the flask back in his pocket.

"Get them."

I barely heard the two words uttered over the roaring in my ears, but I took it as a signal to run, and fast. Pony must have, too, because he darted the opposite direction. Three were chasing him, two chasing me. I felt something hit me in the back of the head and I went stumbling to the ground. My ankle twisted as I went down. The two Socs who were on my heels started wailing on me. Fist after fist connected with my face; I was numb after the first one, thanks to the cold air. I could feel blood starting to run down my nose and from my mouth. Rings wasn't one of the guys beating me up this time. Weakly, I hoped that he wouldn't scar Pony's face if he was the one working him over. After what felt like five straight minutes of getting punched in the face, I was finally dropped. I collapsed to the ground, moaning in pain.

"Stay there," one of them hissed as he and his friend walked away. I was fighting to stay conscious, and through my half open eyelids I saw all five of the Socs beating the absolute shit out of Pony. I knew I had to get up and help, but I was hurting too bad. I could hear his screams, he screamed for me and for Darry and Soda. As much as it hurt, I moved to get up and help. The earth was spinning as I sat up, like I was drunk or something. I got onto my feet and immediately fell back down.

" _Johnny!"_ came Ponyboy's scream again. _Fuck,_ I thought. I really need to get over there. I tried getting up again, face and side throbbing. Was I kicked? My side felt like the ribs had cracked. I was starting to lose my grip on reality when by some divine miracle, I saw the gang show up. Really, I heard them before I saw them, their shouts making everyone aware of their presence. Sighing, knowing it was being handled, I laid back on the cold ground, letting darkness take over.

Xxx

When I woke up, I was on the Curtises couch. A lamp on the end table illuminated the room. I was still in pain, but not as much pain as I had been in previously. I was warm and sleepy. Darry was sitting on the coffee table, watching me. Soda sat next to him, tears in his eyes. I tried to sit up.

"Whoa, Johnny, take it easy," Darry said, putting his hand gently on my shoulder and pushing me back down. "Do you want some aspirin?"

I nodded, definitely needing something for the pain that was making its way back into my limbs. Darry got up and walked into the kitchen.

"Soda," I said weakly, suddenly remembering the events of last night.. Or whenever that was. "Is Ponyboy okay?"

"Johnny," Soda started. "The Socs took Ponyboy."

"What?"

"They took him. As soon as we showed up, they took off with him. He couldn't fight back, I think he was already unconscious."

"Oh my god," I said. "This is all my fault."

"Johnny, it's not your fault at all. Y'all were jumped, you were passed out before they even took him anywhere. Do not for a second think that this is your fault."

Darry returned with the aspirin and a cup of water a second later before I could respond to Soda. I took the two white pills greedily, hoping they would start working soon. Darry took the glass back from me once it was empty. I sighed, staring at the ceiling, wondering where in the hell they'd taken Ponyboy to. What a mess. What a fucking mess.

"We're going to start looking for Ponyboy tomorrow," Soda said, as if reading my thoughts. "You need to stay here and rest, though; you took quite a hit."

"I'm coming with you guys tomorrow," I stated. We needed to find Ponyboy soon. The Socs could kill him like they almost did to me. "It was the same Socs that jumped me a month ago."

Soda and Darry were silent, and I knew they were staring at the old scars on my face. I also knew they knew what I was implying: that Pony wasn't safe at all with these guys. They had beaten me to within an inch of my life, and that was on our territory. Pony was most likely on their territory by now, and they would have no mercy.

"Get some sleep, Johnny," Darry said, standing up. He walked back into the kitchen.

"Let us know if you need anything." Soda stood as well, heading towards his bedroom. I knew he and Pony usually slept together, and I knew it would be a weird night without having Pony in the bed with him. Darry came back through the living room and turned off the lamp, then retreated to his own bedroom. I closed my eyes, and tried to get a little bit of sleep.


	2. Chapter Two

I woke up in a very unfamiliar place. I was also aching beyond belief and wondering what the hell had happened to me. Memories of the night before were very vague: there was Darry hitting me, running to the lot, Johnny and I fighting with the Socs..

 _Shit._

It was then that I noticed I couldn't move my arms. I looked around, taking in the surroundings: it wasn't hard to tell that I was in a basement, due to the high up windows. I was sitting in the middle of the room against a support beam, and my hands were tied behind my back. My head was pounding, and I was aching for a cigarette and a Coke. I looked in front of me and noticed my ankles were tied together, too. My heart was beating rapidly. I started to scream, though it was muffled by the gag in my mouth.

Suddenly, I heard a door open behind me. Feet descended down the stairs and suddenly, I was face to face with a Soc. There was a look of hate in his green eyes. He gripped my hair tightly, pulling my head back so that I was looking up at the ceiling. I was so scared, tears started to well in my eyes and fell before I could stop them.

"Shut the fuck up," the Soc hissed. "Hear me? Keep your trap shut, _now._ "

"What's going on?" came another voice. Another Soc came into view, looking as disheveled as his friend. The first Soc let go of me.

"This little punk ass kid was screaming, thinking someone was going to come to his rescue."

"Yeah, right, like that'll happen." he looked down at me. "We made sure you will not be found, kid. Ain't nobody looking for you, believe me." They both laughed.

"You need another working over?" the first one asked. Weakly, I shook my head no. I was in unimaginable pain, I wasn't sure I would survive another beating from them. It was hard to breathe right now, my sides were aching and I could literally feel the bruises forming on my face and body. There was a funny taste on my tongue that I somehow knew was blood. My stomach churned at the thought.

"You sure?" he smirked. "It might be fun. Maybe you'll stay knocked out longer this time." I made a noise through my gag. Surprisingly, he reached behind my head and untied it. It fell into my lap, smeared red with my blood.

"What'd you say kid?"

I leaned over next to me and emptied the contents of my stomach. It landed on the hard floor with a splash; bile, spit, and the food from the drive in from the night before all mixed together. It was tainted red, too; but I doubted I was throwing up blood, it was probably from my mouth. Both the Socs jumped. Another wave of nausea hit me, and I threw up again. Then again and again. Tears were running down my face now, and I was shaking. I wanted Soda. God, I wanted Soda. I had never wanted anything so bad in my life. I burst into tears.

"What's going on down there?" A voice came from behind me.

"Kid yacked," answered one of the guys.

"Gross. Come on back up, Jason just got back with the booze and the girls are coming over in a bit."

I felt the gag being put back into my mouth and tied behind my head. There was a horrible taste in my mouth, and my dry throat ached for water. The sour smell of my vomit made my stomach churn again, but I knew I shouldn't throw up now: I'd drown in it. I focused on breathing deep so the nausea would pass. Both the Socs stood up and left the room. The door shut, and I was left completely alone with nothing. The room was cold, and my sweatshirt hung in shreds around me. Some spots were stained darker than others. It hurt to breathe. I prayed my friends and brothers were searching for me, because I didn't know how long I was going to be able to survive this.

Xxx

I must have nodded off because I woke with a start when I heard the door behind me open up again. Three of the Socs stood in front of me, talking amongst themselves. I could barely understand what they were saying, though. It was like I was drifting in and out of consciousness. One of them moved to untie my ankles and arms, and I was hauled to my feet. I stumbled backwards but was caught before I fell.

"You ready for that working over we talked about?" one of the Socs asked. I whined in protest, unable to speak because of the gag. I was too weak to get away from them. They had me under the arms in a nelson grip, hands behind my head, forcing me to look down. I saw two pairs of shoes standing in front of me. Weakly, I struggled.

"No use in struggling, kid. We are going to make you wish you'd never been born."

Xxx

It had been a long day of looking for Ponyboy, and we had come up unsuccessful. Darry had to work, but Steve and I were off for the day. So, the two of us, Dally, and Two-Bit set out on a search party. Johnny had insisted on coming, of course, but I told him not to.

"Stay here in case Ponyboy comes home," I said, hoping that would convince him to stay. The kid was in no shape to be moving around: I was pretty sure he had at least one broken rib, and he had to still be in unimaginable pain from the previous night. His face was bruised, and when he would get up off the couch he would walk with a limp.

We returned to the house as the sun was starting to set, no leads at all. We had searched the entire East side, though there was no point in that since Socs wouldn't have Pony anywhere without one of our kind knowing about it. We did stop by Tim Sheppard's house to give him a head's up on the situation, and he promised us that he would spread the word and keep his eyes and ears open.

"Anything?" Darry asked as we filed in through the door.

"Not a fuckin' thing," Steve answered, heading to the kitchen. I sat down next to Johnny on the couch, trying to think of where else to look. I felt bad that we weren't still continuing the search. The thought of Ponyboy lying somewhere hurt made my stomach twist. What if we were too late by the time we got to him?

"We're gonna start heading towards Soc territory tomorrow," Steve said, emerging from the kitchen with a beer in his hand. He sat down on Johnny's other side and twisted off the cap, taking a long swig. Darry nodded, knowing there was no point in arguing. Normally, he would have been against it, but Pony's life was probably at stake. He retreated back into the kitchen to finish making dinner.

Xxx

After dinner, everyone settled down to sleep. It was really strange not having Ponyboy in the bed with me; we'd been sleeping together for several months now. Sometimes, I would wake up in the middle of the night and reach for him, only to be reminded by the emptiness that he had been kidnapped by Socs. I felt bad for even trying to sleep, but I was exhausted and needed to keep up strength if we were going to find the kid. I pulled the covers closer to me, and drifted back into a fitful and uneasy sleep.

I woke up in a house, a house I had never seen before. Somehow, I knew Pony was there. I heard a low moaning sound, like a moan of pain and agony. I ran through the house, trying to find the source. I opened several doors, only to find closets and a pantry. I opened the last door I could find that didn't lead to outside, and the moaning got louder. This door opened to a basement. I took the steps two at a time, and there was Ponyboy; his back was to me, tied to a support beam in the middle of the room. I dropped down to my knees in front of him. He was bruised and bleeding, moaning in pain. There was a gag in his mouth.

Quickly, I untied the blood stained cloth that was in his mouth. I lifted his chin up so that his eyes would meet mine, but he didn't seem to recognize me. One of his eyes was swollen shut, black and angry looking.

"Pony, can you hear me?" I asked, shaking his shoulder as gently as I could. He moaned in pain again. "Pony, it's me, baby. It's Soda."

Still, the kid didn't seem to recognize me. He started coughing and then blood and bile came up from his throat and onto his lap. I tried to stop myself from crying, not when my little brother needed me.

"Pony, oh Pony." I pulled his face into my chest and hugged him tightly. Blood and tears soaked the front of my shirt but I didn't care. "I'm here now, baby. Shhh, I'm here now."

"Soda," came his hoarse voice. I looked down at Ponyboy. He was looking up at me, blood running from his mouth, his face black and blue. "Soda, please hurry. Please. I don't know how long I can hang on."

Confused, I went to question him. "Pony, I'm here now, you're safe, stop worrying."

"Please, Soda, please.." he retched again and blood came spewing from his mouth and hit the ground with a stomach churning sound. Suddenly, Pony seemed very far away, his coughing became harder and harder to hear. The vision swirled away, the colors mixing together and suddenly my little brother was gone.

I woke with a start, looking around. I reached to the other side of the bed, hoping Ponyboy was there for me to hold onto, that maybe this whole ordeal had been a dream. My hand was met with emptiness. He was still gone. I was sweating something fierce, and decided to get up and change shirts and have a cigarette to keep my heart from going into cardiac arrest. I really needed to calm down.

I walked carefully through the living room so as to not wake the guys up. Johnny was still sprawled out on the couch. The rest of them were in the recliner and even on the floor. None of them had left the house since Ponyboy had been taken; and I doubted they would until he was found. They really were more family than friends; I was thankful every day for them.

It was much colder outside than I had expected, but I was still sweating profusely from my nightmare. Dammit, I wish the dream had given me more information. I didn't think dreams really meant a whole lot, but I really did believe that Pony was still alive, wherever he was. But that also meant that he was running out of time. Clearly from the dream, I learned he was hurt, but I didn't know how bad. I hoped that we would make it in time. I looked up at the clear night sky and for the first time in a long time I prayed to God that we would find Ponyboy in time.


	3. Chapter Three

Darry had to work again the next day, but luckily I didn't. Steve swapped shifts with me at work, which I was super thankful for. I would have been useless at work, anyway; Ponyboy would have been the only thing on my mind, and I really didn't need to be responsible for people's cars while distracted.

The rest of the guys and I set out to continue the long search for my little brother; even Johnny this time. Although, he probably should have stayed at the house again because he was still limping and I was afraid he was going to aggravate his injuries. He had insisted, though.

"Are we headin' to Soc territory today, Soda?" Two-Bit asked, taking a drag off his cigarette. He exhaled a giant gray cloud of smoke. I nodded, almost positive that we would be closer to finding Ponyboy today. It was a long walk to the West side of town but Darry had the truck and Two-Bit's piece of shit car was in the shop getting the break pads replaced. So walking was our only option.

We passed through town and soon enough the houses started getting bigger, the cars getting fancier. Corvairs and Mustangs passed us on the road; we could feel their stares as they drove by, probably wondering why the hell four greasers were on this side of town. Even if Ponyboy was over here I really wasn't sure how we were going to find him; we couldn't just break into every house that we passed by, though that's what I wanted to do. I had a feeling we wouldn't get to very many houses before the fuzz showed if we did that.

"Guys, can we slow down a minute?" Johnny asked from behind us. He was a good five feet behind the rest of us but we didn't seem to notice.

"Sure, Johnnycake, let's stop and smoke," I suggested, sitting down on the curb. Two-Bit took out his pack of smokes and passed one to everybody. Then we all passed around a matchbook and lit up.

"I guess we need to figure out what exactly the fuck we're doing over here," said Dallas, speaking for the first time since we'd crossed into Soc territory. "Because if we don't figure it out soon, we're going to find trouble."

I knew what he was implying: that we would be an easy target for Soc gangs, despite there being four of us. We were in their territory, and we needed to get in and get the fuck out as soon as we could. I took a drag of my smoke.

"I guess we should just start looking for a blue Mustang," I suggested, trying to think of the most logical thing to do. Everyone else nodded in agreement. I looked around at the nearby houses but didn't see the car we were looking for. I hoped there weren't too many blue Mustangs in this neighborhood. As soon as we were all done smoking, we stood up. Two-Bit helped haul Johnny to his feet, and then we set off again.

"Greaser!" came a voice from behind us. We all whipped our heads around in time to see a red Corvair fly by us, the Soc in the passenger seat hanging his head out the window, taunting us.

"Fuck you!" Two-Bit shouted at them, shooting them a bird. They continued driving away, then suddenly changed course and turned around. We all stiffened as they approached closer.

"Johnny, get behind us," I hissed. It wasn't that I didn't think Johnny could hold his own, I definitely knew he could, but he was still hurt and sore from two nights ago, and he didn't need to make it worse. The Corvair came to a halt. I reached into my back pocket, feeling for the switchblade I had been carrying on me ever since Johnny had been jumped a month ago. I didn't want to get stuck in a situation and be unarmed. The doors opened and four Socs got out. We stood our ground, refusing to be intimidated. I could feel the hairs on the back of my neck standing up, adrenaline coursing through me. The four of them stood there, meeting our gaze.

"Well, well, well," started the driver. He had dark hair and dark eyes, his outfit probably worth more than a month of checks from the DX. "What do we have here? Looks like four greasers who wandered off their own territory."

All four of them were of the same height and build. The four of us were lanky, but I wasn't worried about getting our ass whooped; we had Dally, they didn't. Two-Bit had his prized switchblade already in his hand, ready for a fight.

"Move along, fellas," Two-Bit said easily. "We're not looking for any trouble, just looking for one of ours."

"Ah, the kid," the leader cackled. My pulse elevated and my palms got clammy. They knew something about Ponyboy!

Dally took a step forward and grabbed the Soc by the collar of his shirt, then got nose to nose with him. The other three Socs eyes went wide, but they made no move to stop Dallas.

"Listen here, piece of shit," Dallas spat. "You tell us something about the kid you're talking about, and maybe we'll go easy on you and your pals."

The Soc didn't waver at all, he just laughed again. This only pissed Dallas off even more.

"I know where the kid is," he taunted. "But I ain't going to tell any of you hoods. You'll just have to find him yourself."

Dallas and the Soc locked eyes for what felt like several minutes. All of us, even the other Socs, stood still. The wind was still and the background noises faded. Suddenly, Dallas cocked his fist and gave the Soc a right hook to the side of the face. The Soc fell backwards, holding his nose as blood gushed down his face. Dallas stood above him looking down menacingly. The other three Socs made no move to help their friend up in fear that they were next.

"Fuck out my face," Dallas snarled. The lead Soc scrambled to his feet and within seconds they were all back in the Corvair and speeding out of sight.

"Shit, so someone knows where the kid is." Dallas turned around, shaking his hand that had connected with the guy's face. My heart was about to beat out of my chest.

"Well, now we need to look for a red Corvair and a blue Mustang," Johnny said. The four of us nodded, setting off in the direction the Socs had driven in.

Xxx

When I woke up I was lying on the cold cement floor of the basement. I wasn't tied up, but I knew there was no way I was going to be able to escape in this state. I tried to sit up but it hurt too much. I cried out before I could stop myself. Tears stung my eyes. Soda, I wanted Soda. A chill crept up my spine and I shivered. My face was sore from laying on the ground. With a grunt and as much strength as I could muster, I moved my arm under my head so it wouldn't have to lay on the cold floor anymore. It hurt to breathe. I tried recalling what had happened prior to this, but I really couldn't remember. I remember the Socs being here, and threatening me, and feeling a terrible pain in my face, and that was it. I wondered if they were still here.

I lay on the ground shivering, trying not to cry. My blue sweatshirt was laying in shreds beside me, stained with blood. My feet were cold. I looked down and noticed my shoes and socks were gone, and I was only in my boxer shorts. _Where the hell were my clothes?_

The door opened and I pretended to still be knocked unconscious so that maybe the Socs wouldn't bother me. I steadied my breathing and let my mouth hang open a little bit, to make it more believable.

"Kid's still knocked out," I heard one of them say. Inwardly, I breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe they would leave me alone now. "The fuck did y'all do with his clothes?"

"He threw up on them after we were finished beating the shit out of him last night," came the reply. I tried to recall throwing up but couldn't. It didn't surprise me, though, because my stomach was still super uneasy. I hoped I wouldn't get sick while they were standing there and I was pretending to be out.

"How long are we keeping this kid here? Wally said there were four guys on our side of town looking for him earlier today. Once they find him, we're screwed."

"No we ain't. Those greasers ain't gonna do shit. We'll let the kid go soon enough, but first we need to send a message: Do not fuck with us."

My breath caught in my throat and before I could stop myself I started coughing. The coughs made my whole body hurt, aggravating every bruise on my body. I leaned forward and threw up. Holy shit, I just wanted to die. The two Socs above me jumped back.

"Ah, kid's awake." I could hear the smirk in the Soc's voice. He knelt down in front of me. "How you feeling, kid?" His voice wasn't sympathetic at all. I laid there gasping for air, staring at the bile that had just come out of my throat. There wasn't much, but my throat burned like I had just thrown up the very acid from my stomach. He lightly slapped my temple.

"Hey, kid, you good?" he asked loudly. The fuck kind of question is that? I thought to myself. Of course I wasn't okay. I felt terrible. I was cold and wanted to be in my bed at home with Soda. Tears sprung to my eyes, and before I could stop myself I started to bawl. It was loud and echoed off the walls and floor. The door opened and more Socs came down the stairs, which only made me cry harder. I was at their mercy, which wasn't saying much. I was hurting and sick, and just wanted my brothers.

"Tie him back up," one ordered, no emotion at all in his voice. "Put that gag back in his mouth. Now."

"No, please no," I begged as I was drug back to the pole in the room. I was too sore to get up and escape, why wouldn't they just let me lay down? My back was sore from sitting up for so long. "Please, please no!" I was still bawling. My hands were roughly pulled behind me, the ropes burning my wrists. Another Soc put the white, bloody rag back in my mouth. They filed past me while ignoring my cries of pain and despair. The lights shut off and the doors closed behind them and I continued to cry to myself. When was this going to end?


	4. Chapter Four

It was another restless night of not knowing where the kid was, and the not knowing was driving everyone crazy, especially Soda. It was no secret that the kid and I weren't too fond of each other, but right now I'd give anything for that pain in the ass to be back home so that Soda could quit worrying and we could move on from this shit.

The guys were all asleep, and I had just been woken up by Soda walking outside to smoke a cigarette. Still groggy, I got up to go make sure my buddy was fine. As stupid as I thought it was, Soda and Pony slept together every night, because of the kid's bullshit nightmares, and I knew it was probably weird for him to sleep alone. I shook my head and quietly opened the screen door.

Soda sat in one of the chairs on the porch, quietly smoking a weed, deep in thought. I didn't say anything for a minute, not trying to invade his space. Finally, Soda spoke after what felt like hours of sitting in silence.

"Steve, let's go find Pony right now. I can't sit here any longer waiting on morning. There's no telling what they've done to him by now, I don't want to be too late."

I was quiet for a moment, but I understood where Soda was coming from. It must be killing him to sleep in their bed without him, to sit around eating dinner while Pony was God knows where, he probably hadn't eaten in days, either, and was probably hurt. "Okay."

"Okay?" Soda repeated, actually turning around in the chair to look me right in the eye. He probably thought it was going to take more convincing. I totally got it, though. Hell, at least at night there was a better chance of sneaking around without being spotted by Socs looking for trouble. It was only 1 am, too, so it was several hours before the sun would be coming up.

"Okay," I shrugged, standing up.

I went and put a jacket on while Soda got dressed and wrote a note for Darry. I hoped we wouldn't run into any trouble, because if something happened to us we would be royally fucked. Once everything was taken care of, we tip-toed out of the house without waking anyone up.

"Where are we going to go?" I asked Soda. We had made it out, but I wasn't sure where to go from there. Soda recounted a dream he had had a few nights prior, one where Pony was down in the basement of a house. It would only make sense that it was a Soc house somewhere on the rich side of town. It made sense. But, which house?

"I reckon we're just going to have to start looking for whatever house has a blue Mustang or red Corvair. I really don't know, Steve. We just need to find him, I'm not going to be able to relax until we do. It's driving me crazy."

I nodded. We had been gone for about 45 minutes and it was becoming more obvious we were in Soc territory. It was definitely a good idea to be here this late, as there was nobody on the roads. The houses were all dark, the only light coming from street lamps and porch lights. It was quiet. Almost too quiet.

"Do you hear that?" Soda asked. The cold air was drying out my eyes and tears were running down my face. I squinted, trying to keep the wind out of them. All I could hear was the wind whipping. I shook my head. Suddenly, though, I heard what sounded like some drunken buffoons acting like dumbasses. Socs. Soda and I both stopped in our tracks and looked at each other. The side of the street we were on was more well lit than the other side. We both quickly ran to the other side so we could hide in the shadows. We walked slowly up the street looking for where the noise had come from.

It really wasn't hard to tell where it was coming from the closer we got. There was a house with a porch light on, and nine Socs were sitting around, drinking from flasks and smoking cigarettes. Soda elbowed me in the ribs.

"Look in the driveway."

I looked and there were the telltale cars: the blue Mustang and the red Corvair. We had been up this street just the day before, but I guess we hadn't noticed the house because neither of the cars were in the driveway. They were both there now, though.

"What should we do?" Soda asked me. There was fear and excitement in his eyes. There was no way in hell we could take on all nine of them at the same time, but we were so close to finding Ponyboy now. My heart was thudding. We needed to think of a plan.

"Let's walk on up the street, cross over, then come back," I suggested. I didn't want them to see us, but I did want to get closer so we could hear their conversation. Soda nodded and we took off up the street, hoping the darkness would conceal us from their sight.

Xxx

Soda and I stopped before we were in the yard of the Soc house. Thankfully there were giant hedges in the flower beds, so we crept into them as quietly as we could. We peered through the leaves, keeping silent. The Socs were laughing and talking bullshit; their girls sat amongst themselves outside of the circle, letting the boys talk. I hoped they would give us some answers soon. My knees were starting to get sore from crouching for so long.

"So, how's the kid doing?" one of the guys asked. I felt Soda stiffen beside me. We both sat stock still, hanging onto every word the Socs said.

"Barely hanging in there," one laughed. "I reckon we'll let him go soon, we don't want a murder on our hands."

Soda gripped my bicep so hard I was sure a bruise was forming. The guys continued laughing, recounting details to some of the other guys about beating the kid to a pulp. The girls listened but didn't laugh or join in; they sure didn't look disgusted with their boyfriends beating up a child, though. _Jesus,_ I thought. From the sounds of it, they were having no mercy on the kid. I looked back at Soda, who was wide eyed.

"You said the kid is down in the basement, right?" I whispered as quietly as I could. Soda nodded in response. "As soon as they go inside, we're going to go around back and see if we can see down there." Again, Soda nodded. After about 30 more minutes of bullshitting, the Socs got up and went inside. "Let's go."

We crept around the back of the house, and as if guiding our way, we could see small windows indicating there was indeed a basement in this house. Light spilled from the basement and onto the grass. We both got down on our stomachs and peered down into the room. My eyes widened at the sight.

Ponyboy was indeed down in the basement; or, it looked like him anyway. The kid was black and blue, covered in dried blood. His sweatshirt from the night he was taken lay in pieces beside him. He wasn't wearing anything else besides his boxer shorts. Why the fuck was he not wearing his clothes? The floor was stained red with his blood. Beside me, Soda gasped. I shook my head. They had really done a number on the kid. All nine of them were standing in the basement in front of the kid, untying him from the pole, hauling him to his feet. Soda once again gripped my bicep, squeezing tighter as the tension heightened.

As soon as the Socs had Pony on his feet, he collapsed to the ground. We watched as they kicked him. They were yelling at him, telling him to get up, but everytime he got onto his hands and knees, they would kick him back down. He was really weak, from what I could tell, and he looked like he had lost some weight. I doubted they had given him anything to eat the entire time he had been down there. They had just been torturing him the whole time, pissed because he and Johnny had tried to pick up their girls. Johnny had told us the story, and really it was their own fault for acting like drunken clowns. They just didn't want to take responsibility, and it was easier to blame two greasers instead.

I don't know how long we sat there watching them, but after what felt like forever they were finally done beating on the kid. They tied his hands roughly behind his back, but not to the pole this time, I noticed. He probably couldn't move much in his condition, anyway. Maybe they were going a little bit easier on him. Beside me, Soda was barely breathing, staring wide-eyed down into the basement. Through the glass we could hear Ponyboy crying. The light turned off and the Socs were gone.

"Where the hell are we going to get liquor from?"I heard a voice ask from around the corner. The Socs were walking out the front door.

"There's a party down at Joe's," another answered. "Let's go steal their keg and bring it back. We can get the kid wasted."

The rest of them laughed and Soda tensed up beside me. I looked at him. "It's now or never." Soda nodded, understanding what I meant. Quietly, we crept around to the back of the house. The backyard was fenced in but we just hopped on top of the air conditioner and climbed over. We heard the doors to the cars close and the Socs peeled out. We probably had twenty minutes at the most. I prayed to God that that dipshit Joe who was having the party didn't live nearby.

The back door was obviously locked, which wasn't surprising. Without any hesitation whatsoever, Soda punched through the glass on the door, reached inside, and unlocked it. His knuckles were bleeding, but he didn't seem to notice nor care. We slipped inside quietly as possible in case there was a Soc left behind; of course, if there was, I'm sure the glass breaking had already alerted them to our presence. No one came, so I figured we were in the clear. We made our way through the dark, looking for the door to the basement.

"Steve, over here," Soda hissed. My heart was about to beat out of my chest, as I made my way over. I peered through the windows that looked out to the driveway to make sure I didn't see any headlights. We were still good. I followed Soda down the stairs and into the basement.

"Oh, Ponyboy," Soda cried. He already had the kid in his arms. I could barely see him in the dark so I flipped on the lights, figuring we had enough time to get him out. The sight made my stomach churn. It was a lot worse up close than it was from one story up.

Ponyboy had most definitely lost weight; his ribs were clearly visible, and his stomach was sunk in. He was covered in bruises and dried blood. There was blood and vomit all over the ground where he had been laying, the sour smell hung in the air. He lay shivering in his older brother's arms.

"Soda, I don't feel good," Pony cried. Soda just held him, shushing him.

"Sit him up for a sec," I said, kneeling down. I took the kid's wrists and sawed through the ropes with my switchblade. I almost cut the kid but luckily I didn't. He probably wouldn't have felt it, anyway. His wrists had blue and black rings around them, and dried blood stained his forearms. "Soda, we've got to go. Now." The Socs would be back literally any minute. Soda looked up at me and nodded, still holding his brother. He shrugged his jacket off and wrapped the kid up in it. I thought about grabbing the kid's shirt, but it was torn and covered in blood and vomit. Too far gone.

"Pony, where the hell are your clothes?" I asked. I leaned down and took the kid out of Soda's arms, then took Soda's hand and pulled him to his feet. Pony looped his arms around my neck.

"I don't know," he cried. "I woke up and they were gone. I threw up on them anyway."

I made sure Soda's jacket was covering Pony good and made my way up the stairs, Soda on my heels. The kid was shivering violently against me, tightening his arms around my neck. At the top of the stairs, I peered out the front windows again, but still no sign of the rich pricks and their cars.

"Soda, go first and make sure the coast is clear," I ordered. The hardest part of the mission was over: we'd found Ponyboy. Now, we just had to get him to safety. Soda didn't seem to be able to think straight, so I took over. Soda ran ahead like I'd said and I followed close enough but not too far away.


	5. Chapter Five

Luckily, we didn't run into any Socs on the way out the yard, even when we got to the front yard. Dipshit Joe's house was either a good drive away, or they had started shooting the shit with the other assholes at the party.

I had been worried about getting Ponyboy over the fence, but we found a gate to go through instead of climbing over and taking the risk of hurting the kid. Ponyboy moaned in pain as we took off down the street. We opted to stay on the darker side of the road for obvious reasons. His face was buried in my chest, shivering against the whipping wind.

"Steve," he suddenly said. "Stop."

I came to a halt, confused. "Why? What's wrong?"

"Pony are you-"

"Please, stop," Pony begged. "Please let me down."

Still confused, I gave into the kid, and tried to set him on his feet. The second his feet touched the ground, though, he collapsed onto the sidewalk. Soda and I were on our knees in a second. Pony leaned forward and started throwing up non-stop over the curb and onto the street.

Soda silently rubbed the kids back, pulling the jacket over it to keep his exposed skin warm. Ponyboy's protruding ribs tensed, and he threw up again and again. When he was done, he burst into tears. Even though the kid was a pain in the ass, I felt bad for him in that moment. But, we didn't need to waste any time. It would be dawn in a couple of hours and we needed to get going. I picked the kid back up again.

"Steve, where are we going?" Soda asked as we kept running.

"This kid needs to be in a hospital," I panted, my breath coming out as puffs of white smoke against the freezing night air. "Let's get to the supermarket, we'll use a payphone and call 911."

Xxx

It was still dark out when we got to the parking lot of the supermarket. The payphone was on the other side of the parking lot. When we got there, I laid Ponyboy down in the grass and let Soda tend to him while I picked up the receiver. Thank god a 911 call was free because I was straight broke. After explaining to the dispatcher the situation, I hung up and went over to my buddy to see how the kid was faring.

"I better call Darry," Soda said. Shit, I hadn't even thought about that. But he was right. Hopefully Darry or one of the guys hadn't woken up yet and noticed us missing. Even though we left a note, Darry would be tripping balls by now.

"Ya got money?" I asked. Soda nodded, then stood up and went to make the call. I turned to Ponyboy. He was laying in the grass, knees pulled up to his chest, shivering and pulling Soda's jacket closer to him. I put my hand on the jacket, letting him know someone was there. He seemed scared, and it's not like anyone was there to make fun of me for being nice to the kid. In the distance, I heard sirens wailing.

Soda got off the phone and came back to us. He pulled Pony back into his arms, trying to comfort the kid. The sound of sirens kept getting closer.

"What did Darry say?" I asked.

"Him and the guys are going to meet us at the hospital," Soda answered, shivering from the cold, too. "I told him they wouldn't make it here in time before the ambulance showed up."

As if on cue, a green, yellow, and white ambulance rolled up into the parking lot. The driver spotted us and came to a halt five feet away. The lights and sirens shut off and the doors opened. Two guys in mint green uniforms made their way to us.

"Hey, guys, y'all are the ones who called?" asked one of them. Both of them had dark hair, and looked like they weren't too much older than Darry. Soda and I nodded, then I gestured to the kid. The paramedic nodded, motioning Soda to bring Ponyboy to the gurney the other medic had brought out of the back.

"You can just lay him on there, and we'll get going." Soda did as he was told, then Pony was moved into the back of the ambulance. Soda and I followed.

"Kenny," the paramedic said. "You're going to need the lights on for this one."

Kenny nodded, then made his way to the driver's seat. The paramedic in the back closed the doors and we were in darkness until he turned on an overhead light that shone down on the kid.

"What's his name?" he inquired.

"Ponyboy," Soda and I answered at the same time. The paramedic didn't miss a beat. He must have heard some strange names during his career. He took a small flashlight out of his pocket and shone it in Ponyboy's slightly open eyes, pulling on the lids of each one.

"Ponyboy, can you hear me?" he asked. The kid nodded, just barely.

"Ponyboy, my name is Axle. How are you feeling?"

 _Dumb question,_ I thought, but remained quiet. The kid moaned in pain.

Axle turned the flashlight off and reached into one of the drawers next to him. He pulled out a syringe and a clear tube. He moved Soda's jacket out of the way and started cleaning up the crook of the kid's arm. I watched in shock as Axle started the IV perfectly despite the rocking of the ambulance. Kenny was driving like a maniac.

"Do you have any water?" Ponyboy implored, his voice hoarse and raw. Axle put his hand on Pony's shoulder.

"You can't have anything just yet, kiddo. After the doctor checks you out, though, you can have some water." Then he turned to us. "What happened?"

Soda recounted the details as Axle began assessing the damage to the kid and taking his vitals. His heart rate was high, along with his blood pressure.

"Looks like they really did a number on him," Axle said. "You said he was vomiting, too?"

Soda and I both nodded.

"The room where we found him had vomit all over the floor. We don't know how long that's been going on. But he definitely threw up after we got him out of there, too. Several times."

"Well, I'm no doctor, but there's more than likely some internal bleeding. Definitely a concussion; the sides of his head are all bruised and beaten. The guys who had him really fucked him up. Also, it's worth mentioning he's running a fever as well; There's more than likely an infection somewhere from one of the wounds."

Soda and I both nodded. I looked down at Ponyboy, he seemed to be drifting in and out of consciousness. Axle gently shook Pony's shoulder.

"Hey, don't go to sleep yet, kid. Stay awake for me so we can let the doctor take a look at you. Then I'll get you some water and you can go to sleep, okay?"

Pony weakly nodded. I felt the ambulance coming to a halt. The back doors opened and Kenny was there, already pulling the foot of the stretcher out of the back. Axle followed immediately behind him and then came Soda and I.

Nurses bombarded us as soon as we got through the doors. They swarmed around the stretcher, and Soda and I got out of their way to let them work.

"Trauma Room One!" said an older nurse from behind the nurses station. She pointed at the room directly in front of where she was sitting. Kenny took Pony's stretcher and started moving it into the room. Axle was recounting to a man in a white coat what had happened, and the group of nurses that had attacked Ponyboy followed the stretcher into the room. Soda and I moved closer to the room but stayed outside of it, knowing better than to go in.

"This-" Axle pointed to Soda. "Is his brother. He can tell you more, I'm going to go help them move the kid onto the bed." With that, Axle walked into the mass hysteria in the trauma room. Soda walked over to the doctor and they began speaking. I guess Soda had to give him some more information. After a few minutes, the doctor went into the room as well.

"Think Darry and all them are here by now?" I asked, trying to get Soda's mind off of what was going on in the room in front of us. We could clearly hear Pony moaning in pain, and calling out for his brothers. I knew Soda wanted to go in there, but there was no way to get to Ponyboy at the moment. I looked around and saw a sign that said "Waiting Room" and nudged Soda in that direction.

"Let's find out."

Xxx

Sure enough the guys were already in the waiting room, arguing with the staff at the front desk. Darry was trying to get it through to them what had happened, but they kept saying there were no patients by that name yet. Darry seemed exasperated and looked very rough. All the guys did. Behind them, through the windows, I could see the sky starting to get light. Darry looked over and saw Steve and I and his eyes lit up. Suddenly, I was engulfed in a bear hug from him.

"Soda, what the hell is going on?" he sounded like he wanted to be upset with me for leaving, but he sounded even more relieved that this hellish ordeal was over. I nodded in the direction of the door, and the six of us made our way to the back of the ER where Pony's room was. I hoped they would clear out soon so we could see him.

"Steve and I went looking for Ponyboy because I couldn't sleep. It was driving me crazy, Darry. I had to know where he was."

"You scared the bejeezus out of me." He didn't sound mad at all; he nodded in understanding. I peeked into Pony's room. The curtain was drawn and I only saw a couple pairs of shoes under the curtain that was blocking my view of seeing the whole room. I took this as my cue to go in. Gently I pulled back the curtain and saw Pony laying in the big bed in the middle of the room. There were two nurses in the room: one was sitting at the bedside, drawing blood, and the other was hanging an IV bag. They both looked up as I entered.

"Hi, are you Soda?" the one hanging the bag asked. I nodded slowly, not sure how she knew.

"Ponyboy was calling for you," she answered my silent question. She gave me a sympathetic smile as tears welled in my eyes. She motioned for me to come in. I went straight to the other side of the bed and took Pony's hand in my own and gently stroked his hair.

The nurses had cleaned him up to assess the damage, but he didn't look much different than he had before. The dried blood was gone but that was about it. The dark, angry looking bruises remained, as did the scrapes and cuts. Pony had been stripped of his boxers but wasn't wearing a gown yet. I scanned over his skinny body, taking in the damage to him. His eyes were closed and he looked peaceful, but I knew inside his head there was a war raging. I knew right then that getting him back to us was only half the battle; I thought Johnny's run in with the Socs was bad, but that was nothing compared to this. I felt a hand on my shoulder and looked over to see Darry standing next to me.

"Jesus," Darry breathed from beside me. "Oh, Ponyboy." He rubbed the top of the blankets that covered Ponyboy's frame, where Pony's leg was. I forgot Darry still hadn't seen the kid. Seeing him like this was definitely a shock. I don't think either of us had seen anyone so bruised and battered.

The two nurses, who introduced themselves as Mandy and Monica, finished up what they had to do and let us know that the doctor would be in soon. Mandy stuck a thermometer under Pony's arm and wrapped a blood pressure cuff around him before she left. She wrote down Pony's temperature in her chart and then walked out of the room. The blood pressure cuff tightened and beeped, then the air deflated. The rest of the guys shuffled in shortly after and immediately went and sat against the wall. I'm sure they weren't supposed to all be here at the same time, so they tried to make as little trouble as possible.

"Alright," started Monica as she fanned a blanket over Pony's sleeping form. "We gave Ponyboy a CT scan when he first got here but we are still awaiting the results. We were informed by EMS about what caused all of this, so the police should be arriving any minute to get your statements. Ponyboy probably will not wake up for several hours. Whenever the results of the scan come back the doctor will be in." With that, her and Mandy left the room, drawing the curtain behind them and closing the sliding glass door.

I pulled up a chair next to my little brother's bed and held his hand. I rubbed the top of his hand with my thumb, careful to avoid the IV stuck in it. He had an oxygen mask on his face, and electrodes stuck to his exposed chest. The blood pressure cuff was still wrapped around his bicep, inflating every ten minutes or so. Ponyboy made no move to wake up.

He wasn't out of the woods yet, but he was here; and for now, that's all that mattered.


	6. Chapter Six

Time passed slowly as we just waited to hear something, good or bad, about Ponyboy's condition. He was still sleeping, and honestly, he looked dead. If it weren't for the steady rise and fall of his chest I would not have known he was still alive. The guys were sitting against the wall behind Darry and I, quiet as mice.

An Indian man entered the room and asked to speak to Darry. I assumed he was the doctor since he was wearing a white coat. I wanted to know what he had to say, but I dared not to leave my little brother's side. His hand felt clammy and his cheeks were flushed red. He shivered slightly. Absentmindedly, I tucked the blankets closer to him. Darry came back into the room and returned to his empty chair next to me.

"That was the doctor," he said. "They don't know anything about Pony's condition yet; only what the paramedics told him. He said he will come in to see Pony soon."

I nodded and continued keeping a silent vigil over our little brother. The guys kept quiet behind us. Nurses came in to check on Pony every once in a while, listening to his heart beat and his pulse. His blood pressure had dropped since he'd gotten off the ambulance; it was now fairly normal. At least, that's what the nurses told us. They left the cuff on him, though, and it was still inflating every once in a while, then would beep and deflate. Over and over. I was starting to expect it now.

Mandy moved to pull the blankets back so she could check Pony's fever, but he shuddered as the cold air touched his naked body. Eyes closed, he weakly whimpered and moved his head side to side against the starch white pillow behind him.

"Your fever's gone up, baby," Mandy stated, reading the thermometer. I covered him back up so his shivering would subside.

"Hang on, hun," Mandy said to me. Gently she took the thick blanket that laid over Pony and put it at the foot of his bed. All he had now was a sheet. He violently shivered. "We don't want him getting too hot: he could have a seizure. I'll come back and check him again in an hour and if it's gone down some more he can have the other blanket back."

"Soda, go home and get a shower and some sleep." Darry was shaking my shoulder. Irritated, I opened my eyes. I guess I had dozed off and didn't realize it. The clock on the wall read 1 in the afternoon. We'd been here since around 6. It felt like we'd been here so much longer. Ponyboy was still asleep in front of me. Both blankets were covering him, so I took that to mean his fever was going down. Thank god. One less thing to worry about.

"Darry, I really don't want to," I protested. I knew I should just listen to Darry and not whine but I really wanted to stay with my little brother. What if something happened while I was gone? Who would take care of him? Steve and I had gotten him out of his predicament and I didn't want to rest until he was home and safe. He was safe but he definitely wasn't home. He was sick and hurting and that made me hurt. Besides, if I went home and showered I would just have horrible anxiety until I got back to the hospital. Darry looked over at Steve, who was sitting against the wall still, the same place he'd been since we were allowed to come sit with Pony. Steve looked back at Darry, making eye contact and gave him a small nod. I knew what this meant but I still didn't want to comply. I rubbed Pony's arm, mindful of the IV.

I heard Steve's knees crack as he slid up the wall and to his feet. Then I felt his hand on my shoulder, squeezing gently, telling me in no uncertain terms that I was going to go to the house with him and clean up and then come back. Tears welled in my eyes at the thought of leaving Pony; I knew it was because I was just so exhausted and having Ponyboy back hadn't quite hit me yet so I was still having some anxiety that was making me emotional. Quickly, I wiped the tears away and stood up. I leaned over the bed and softly kissed Pony's forehead. His skin was dry and warm under my lips. I tucked the covers closer around him then turned and followed Steve out of the room, Johnny and Dallas on my heels. Darry tossed us the keys and we were on our way to the house. _I'll be back soon, Pony._

Xxx

In Soda's absence I took the other available chair next to the bed across from Darry. The kid lay there quietly, the only sound in the whole room coming from the sigh of the blood pressure cuff that kept going on and off every little bit. Darry was quiet, just staring into the bruised and beaten up face of his youngest brother.

"I can't believe they found him," I said just to break the silence. I was going to fall asleep sitting straight up if it continued being this quiet in here.

"I know," Darry replied, not breaking his stare at Ponyboy. "I don't even know what to say. I feared the worst, Two-Bit. I really did."

Darry started to look like he was about to cry but no tears ever fell. His demeanor changed back the second a weak voice called out, "Soda." We both looked at the kid. I wasn't sure I'd heard it until Darry looked at Ponyboy then looked at me, then back at the kid.

"Pony?" I asked gently. He said nothing, just moved his head a little bit, shuddering. Darry laid the back of his hand on the kid's forehead. He stood and pushed the kids hair back, then walked across the room to the sink. There was a stack of washcloths on the counter. Darry wet one and walked back over, wiping Pony's face down then laying it on the kid's forehead. Ponyboy continued shivering, and trying to call out, mouth moving, no noise escaping him. The exhaustion was evident.

"Soda.." Pony finally gasped out. "Darry.. Soda.. please.." His voice was strained and sounded like he hadn't drank anything in days. His mouth opened slightly and his desperate plea came again. Darry took his shoulder in one hand and put his other hand on the kid's arm in an attempt to comfort him.

"Please, Soda, please, help me." His voice had gained some volume and was becoming more and more desperate. I put my hand on his shoulder like Darry was doing, hoping the kid would think it was Soda touching him.

"Shhh.." I cooed softly, standing up and leaning over the bed. "I'm right here." I whispered softly. Maybe in his delusional state he wouldn't be able to tell it was me.

I honestly didn't know what the kid was seeing right now. Probably just another one of his nightmares. I don't think Pony knew that we all knew about his nightmares, but we did. We'd been woken up at one time or another in the middle of the night due to his screaming. Soda had eventually started sleeping with him and it didn't happen quite as often anymore, but still on the occasion I'd be staying over while completely shitfaced and would be jolted from my sleep due to the screams. Sometimes I would wander over to the kid's bedroom and peek through the door, watching as Soda would comfort the kid 'til he fell back asleep, usually within minutes.

Soda must have had it down to an art, because the kid was not calming down at all: if anything he was getting more and more anxious, even in his sleep. Without much thinking, I climbed over the rail and into the bed next to the kid. I got up under the blankets with him and put one arm behind his neck. Instinctively, he turned into my chest, and I put my hand on the back of his head, running my fingers through his hair.

Darry still stood up, wide-eyed, looking shocked that I had been able to calm Pony down so fast. I looked back at him and shrugged. He sat back down, putting his elbows on the bed rail. Pony was sleeping peacefully now, his breathing even. Even through my shirt I could feel the unnatural warmth coming from his body. I could see the sweat beading on his forehead, soaking the shoulder of my shirt where his head lay. During his frantic moving the washcloth had fallen off his forehead. I picked it up off the bed and mopped his head with it, then laid it on the back of his neck. Darry finally leaned back in his chair and I relaxed into the pillow, closing my eyes. It had been a long, long, long three weeks with the kid missing. There had been endless hours of searching and worrying. Worrying and searching. Finally, the kid was safe.

Xxx

I broke down when the guys led me through the door; I couldn't help it anymore. I kept replaying everything that had happened in the last 12 hours and seeing Ponyboy being hurt just feet from me but not being able to do anything about it, busting in the house and being worried we would get killed in there.. It was all too much. I noticed my hand was scabbed over from when I had punched through the door at the Soc's house. It had probably been hurting for a while. Honestly, I didn't even know. It was the last thing on my mind.

I was down on the ground, sobbing, not being able to control it anymore. I was tired and emotionally hurting. I just wanted to get back to the hospital as soon as possible and be with Ponyboy. I needed sleep but I didn't want to sleep until I was back with my younger brother. I felt a hand on my shoulder and immediately knew it was Steve. I looked up and noticed Dallas and Johnny had stepped back to give me some room. Steve was kneeled down next to me.

"Come on," he said, holding out his hand. I took it and he hauled me to my feet. Then he led me to mine and Pony's bedroom, took a clean shirt and jeans out of my dresser, then headed to the bathroom. I followed him like a child, tears rolling down my face as I thought of Ponyboy. I just wanted him to come home.

In the bathroom, Steve set my clean clothes on the counter by the sink then turned the knob in the shower. I heard water hitting the bottom of the tub and saw steam coming from above the curtain. Steve turned and looked me in the eyes.

"Soda, get cleaned up. The faster you get clean, the quicker we can get back to the hospital, buddy." His voice was gruff, yet it was comforting and it snapped me back to reality. I knew I needed to get in the shower and clean up. Okay. I could do this. I looked at Steve tearfully, and nodded slightly. Steve nodded back then excused himself and shut the door.

I stripped my dirty, blood stained clothes from my tired body. My discarded white t-shirt fell to the floor, and I could see a rust colored stain staring back up at me. I knew it wasn't my blood, but Pony's. I shook my head. I couldn't think of him right now. I needed to get cleaned up and then I would deal with that.

The hot water engulfed my body, washing away blood, sweat, and dirt from the night before. It eased the tension in my muscles, and I really thought I could fall asleep standing up in the shower. I was so tired. After probably a half hour in the shower, I turned the water off. The exhaustion was finally starting to hit me. I stepped out of the shower and grabbed the towel hanging up.

I felt a lot better putting on clean clothes and being fresh out of the shower. I opened the door, letting out the steam. _Don't worry, Pony, I'm on the way back._


End file.
